Safety-razor.



I WVENTQR 777. a M FM. J {I J. MOLKENTHIN, JR.

SAFETY RAZOR. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2,1913.

Patented Aug. 29, 1916.

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JOSEPH MOLTKENTHIN, J 015 NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

SAFETY-RAZOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, Tulle.

Application filed June 2, 1913. Serial No. 771,128.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH MOLKENTHIN, Jr., a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Newark, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety- Razors, of which the following is a specification. a

This invention relates to an improved safety razor, and is of the type in which a thin blade is inserted in a guard and is clamped in place, and when so clamped, has its front edge or cutting edge adjacent to the front edge of the guard, the guard having projections which shield the corners of the blade and prevent cutting of the person shaving. The invention resides in a razor of this type in which means are provided for engaging a portion of the blade other than its front edge to limit its movement, whereby the front edge of the blade is prevented from being unduly forced against the projections of the guard.

The invention also provides for an improved form of guard in which a smooth fender is provided, that is, an unbroken front on the razor permits the razor to slide smoothly over the skin, the guard being cut away in rear of the fender to form separated teeth which act to support the cutting edge of theblade, but provide sufficient space between them for the passage of. lather so that the razor does not clog in the act of shaving and the blade is not forced away from the fender.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which corresponding figures of reference indicate similar parts in all the several views, in which v1ews 1 Figure 1 is a section of the assembled portions of the razor taken in a plane corresponding with line 1, 1, in Fig. 2, the handlebeing shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a top view of the guard, and Fig. 3 is a bottom View of the blade used in the guard.

The guard consists of two parts, a base plate and the clamping plate 11. The base plate 10 has its forward portion 12 for wardly and downwardly inclined, terminating in a smooth edge 13 which forms a bar acting as a fender providing for the razor passing smoothly over the skin of the user. The base plate has a cutaway portion 14 of the blade ing ears 17. Swinging between the ears is the clamping plate 11 which is pivoted in the ears 17 by the pins or lugs 18 which extend into small openings in the ears, the clamping plate 11 extending forward from the pivot and having its front portion 19 adapt-- ed to be forced upward as by the screw 20 of the handle 21. The blade 22 is formed of a piece of thin sheet steel, rectangular in form, having a razor edge at its forward edge 23 and provided with a reinforcing back 25 of substantially U-form, as shown in Fig. l at the rear edge, which back preferably extends from end to end of the blade and is bent around the rear edge of the thin piece of razor steel, forming a shoulder on each face of the blade. The front portion 19 of the clamping plate is elevated and engages the thin part of the blade from beneath, and the part of the clamping plate 11 farther in the rear receives the reinforced back to support both parts of the blade together, this being done in order to prevent undue strain being exerted against the thin part of the blade when the screw 20 forces the clamping plate 11 upward so as to clamp the blade 22 between said clamping plate and the fingers 26 which project upwardly and inwardly from the ends of the base plate and act to hold the blade down when the clamping plate forces it up against these fingers, the blade being inserted in the holder from the rear thereof and between the fingers 26. The clamping plate is shortened at and near its front-edge so that it can pass between the fingers 26 which permits the clamping plate to be swung upward and to facilitate the cleaning of the razor.

On the ends of the front edge 13 of the guard are upstanding projections 27 which shield the corners of the blade and prevent cutting of the face by said corners in shaving.

It is usual to make razor guards of a comparatively soft metal such as brass, and it has been the practice heretofore, as will be seen from my former Patent No. 1,005,273, granted Oct. 10, 1911, and upon which this invention is an improvement, to force the sharp steel blade, inserted from the rear of the holder, forwardly against the projections 27 which act as stops for the sharp edges of the blade, the blade being inserted from the rear and pushed forward until-its further movement is prevented by the projections 27 serving as blade stops. When such projections are used as blade stops, the edges of the sharp steel blade cut into them when the blade is pushed into its place in the holder. Such cutting into or under the stops 27 is at first only slight, but after the razor has been used some time the cutting away of the backs of the projections 27, due to the comparative softness of the material of the guard and the hardness and sharpness of the steel blade, is greatly and cumulatively increased, thereby permitting the blade to be moved forward with its edge beyond the position at which it is designed to be used. In this way after a time the blade edge projects too far on the guard and is not properly protected thereby so that the user may very frequently be cut in shaving by reason of the parts not having their proper relative positions, and it may even happen in aggravated cases that the projections 27 are cut entirely off.

To prevent the moving forward of the blade against the projections and gradually cutting into theirback edges, I have devised a means for limiting the forward movement of the blade by constructing a raised portion on the clamping plate against which the reinforcing .strip on the blade is ushed when the blade is inserted, thus limiting the forward movement of the blade against the projections 27.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I show the preferred form of stop which consists of lugs 28 which are struck up from the clamping plate and project so that when the blade is slid in from the back of the guard, the front edge or shoulder 29, on the under side of the reinforced back, engages the lugs 28 and the blade is not permitted to extend farther forward than a predetermined distance. Stop. portions 29 are formed at each end of the reinforcing back close to the rear edge thereof and at a distance from the cutting edge corresponding to the distance between the rear face of the positioning lugs and the position which the cutting edge of the blade is to occupy in the guard, the reinforcing means extending forwardly between the positioning stops as shown at 30 in order to impart stiffness to the blade. It is convenient to have the two faces of the blade identical so that itmay be used in the holder with either side up, and I provide the reinforcing means at the rear edge of the blade with end positioning stops and forwardly extending portions intermediate of the stops on both sides of the blade, but it will be apparent that this is not essential and that such positioning stops may be provided on one side of the blade only, which side will be used as the lower side in assembling the blade in place in the holder. The reinforcing member upon the top side of the blade may be of any desired form or shape and need not be provided with the positions ing stops to contact with the positioning lugs on the holder.

The parts can be so disposed that the front of the blade just touches Jshe projections 27 when the blade is stopped by the lugs 28, but in Fig. 1 I show the razor made to hold the blade so that its front edge does not quite touch the rear faces of the projections 27. This is also illustrated in Fig. 2 where, in the lower left hand corner in dotted outline, I show the approximate position of the blade in its relation to the teeth 15 and to the projections 27.

It will be understood that the position of the lugs 28 can be changed, and a corresponding change can be made in the edge 29 of the reinforced back 25. I wish to state further that the form of the back, that is, the contour of its front edge, can be varied to suit different requirements, such as the strength of the thin portion of the blade, and other changes may be brought about in both the construction of the guard and the blade without departing from the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a safety razor, a guard having projections on its front edge for shielding the corners of the blade and provided at its ends with means to hold a blade thereon and prevent it from rising, a plate pivoted to said guard and provided with upwardly extending lugs, a blade having means on its back to engage said lugs, said blade projecting at its cutting edge beyond said lugs a distance less than that between said lugs and. projections, and. means for forcing said pivoted member upward to clamp said blade between said pivoted member and said holding means with the cutting edge of the blade out of contact with said projections.

2. In a safety razor, a guard, projections thereon for shielding the corners of a blade, upwardly and inwardly projecting fingers on the ends of the guard, a plate pivoted to said guard and provided at each end with an upwardly projecting lug, a thin blade shoulder being in engagement with said lugs,

and means for forcing said pivoted plate toward said fingers and clamping said blade between said plate and said fingers with the shoulder on the blade in contact with said lugs and the corners of its cutting edge shielded by said projections. 

